Dempsey, Jones, Clark among those staying put on transfer day

A few Americans made moves in Europe ahead of the close of the summer transfer window, but some of the bigger names being tossed around the rumor mill stayed put.

The major move to Arsenal never materialized for Clint Dempsey, who remains at Fulham. Jermaine Jones is still out of favor at Schalke. Ricardo Clark is still in the 2. Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankurt. Eric Lichaj suffered a hip injury that got in the way of any potential loan move back to Leeds United. Brad Guzan is still the backup goalkeeper at Aston Villa.

After much talk about Americans making moves, Michael Bradley was the only high-profile American to secure a much-needed move, getting a fresh start in Italy with Chievo Verona.

Other Americans to find new addresses include centerback Gale Agbossoumonde, who will be on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt; defender Daniel Williams, who signed a three-year deal with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim; striker Tony Taylor, who went on loan to Atletico CP in Portugal's second division; and 18-year-old forward Villyan Bijev, who was loaned from Liverpool to Fortuna Dusseldorf.

As for the road ahead for those who didn't move:

Dempsey is still in a good spot, as a consistent starter and scoring threat on a Fulham team that improved itself by bringing in Bryan Ruiz and Juventus defender Zdenek Grygera.

Jones likely couldn't find a suitor willing to take on his contract, but a loan, either elsewhere in Germany or perhaps another one in England, seems like a likely proposition down the line.

Clark, who was grouped in with Bradley and Jones among players who needed to sort out club issues during Jurgen Klinsmann's explanation of his roster for the upcoming friendlies, will have to fight for his place at Frankfurt, and a loan remains an option for him, too.

Upon his return from injury, Lichaj remains a good bet to be loaned out during the winter, as Leeds still rates him very highly after his loan stint there last season. Aston Villa brought in right back Alan Hutton from Tottenham, creating even more competition at Lichaj's position.

As for Guzan, a loan to a League Championship side, like the one he had at Hull City last year, remains a possibility while he maintains his duties as Aston Villa's backup goalkeeper.

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What are your thoughts about the Americans that did, and did not, move during the transfer window? Disappointed Dempsey didn't complete the rumored move to Arsenal of Paris St. Germain? Surprised that Jones is still at Schalke?

It would have been great to see Lichaj get signed by Leeds since they are completing to get relagated to the EPL. Hope to see Guzan get loan back to a Championship team. They were rumors of QPR being interested in Jermaine Jones that would have been great. I really don’t care much about Clark he should just go back to the MLS and stay away from the USMNT. As for Dempsey it would have been amazing to seem him play for a team as Arsenal but hey Dempsey is the heart of the Fulham team and I’m happy to still see him there.

one potential silver lining in these non-transfers for key US internationals is Fulham’s addition of Ruiz. The Tico FW has a nose for goal and the kind of creative flair that ought to mesh well with Dempsey’s style. I see them as effective strike duo more ideally creative withdrawn FW/wing support for Zamora up top. They can also be roughly interchangeable parts, allowing Dempsey to stay fresh and healthy for vital matches and skip a lopsided FA Cup or Europa group match every now & then.

A seemingly decent day for Arsenal fans, until they realize that Clint Dempsey scored as many EPL goals last year (12) as the combined efforts of Arshavin (6), Arteta (3), Benayoun (1, although he only played six EPL games), Wilshire (1), and Rosicky (0).

I’m most disappointed for Lichaj, least for Dempsey. This will be a big year at Fulham, and they now have a better than decent team. Murphy’s a bit old sometimes, and Etuhu sometimes lacks effectiveness, but their attack, width, and central defense are quite good by many standards.

Yeah, disappointing that Dempsey did not get picked up by a CL club. I would love to see him on the big European stage. Here’s hoping that Fulham has a successful year–would love to see Dempsey have a big game November 26 against Arsenal–as in kicking their a–.

I wonder whether Dempsey would be in higher demand if he were, say, a native of Europe or South America. I am not saying his Americanism is the only reason bigger teams aren’t after him, but it probably does not help. It would help if at some some point in the near future an American breaks through that glass ceiling and becomes a global “football” star.

With the dust settling after closing of the European transfer windown, some German press reports are giving a more accurate picture of Michael Bradley’s move to Verona. The German newspaper Express, which has excellent sources at M’Gladbach and which on Saturday was the first to report on MB’s impending move to Verona (which was noted in the English press first in Ives Saturday running commentary :-), says the transfer fee was “a bit over 1 million euros.” Here is a link to the story:

And the following link is to an excellent German story, telling how Gladbach had hoped to get a 4-million-euro transfer fee from Ashton Villa. But after that fell through, this story says MB did not want to play under new Gladbach coach Favre, so Gladbach had no negotiating strength and had to take what it could get. Here is the link to that story:

That is a completely unfair comparison. Dempsey’s job is to score goals and to a lesser extent create for others…I mean, he certainly isn’t out there for his defensive prowess or crossing ability. The others you mentioned sans Arshavin are out there to break up play, distribute and create. Also, Arshavin managed to have like 10-11 assists last season and those goals came in significantly less minutes. While I agree that Dempsey would have fit in at Arsenal, your comparison is off the mark.

Not disagreeing with you, but curious as to why you feel that Dempsey to Arsenal was not realistic
a) He’s not good enough
b) He’s American
c) He’s too expensive
d) Fulham would not sell
e) Arsenal would not want him
f) other reason?

I think Guzan fared the worst of all. He was the heir apparent to Friedel, yet remains the backup after Friedel departed. At some point, “promise” becomes “promise unfulfilled.” Guzan is old enough to grab a starting position somewhere — if he’s good enough. A question that he hasn’t answered through play on the field.

Thanks for the nice links. In the big picture, Verona got a great deal for MB at $2mil. But it’s strange that it was an Italian team (and not an EPL team – where Americans seem to fit better) that were willing to take the risk on a 24yr old midfield with high upside potential.

No need to wonder about it, Dempsey would definitely be on a top side if he were anything other than American. I’m not saying he would start, but one of the big clubs in one of the top leagues would want him. Just look at his own club who he helped save from relegation, helped get to the Europa finals, and was their top scorer for the last three seasons, they paid more for Ruiz than the asked for Dempsey. Yet Ruiz has never played in the premier league and scores goals in CONCACAF, as a forward, at a lower rate than Dempsey, not to mention Altidore and EJ.

All of that Champions League cash and they can’t afford Jermaine Jones? Speaking of Champions League, Dempsey will have to wait until next season to get his chance. Overall, it was a bad transfer window for Americans.

I think they deserve to be playing CL soccer — their talent level dictates that. It’s too bad they probably never will if they stay at Everton and Fulham (two clubs I respect, but let’s face it, neither will qualify for CL anytime soon).

But you’re right….worse fates could befall them. Still, it’d be nice to see Timmy making saves at a big club, or Deuce scoring goals at a big club. I don’t think we’ll see it.

Fulham is a middling team and Dempsey is just right for them. He cannot play at a higher level. He’s not that high a calibre player. His first touch is not good, he cannot play one touch football, he lacks pace, often drifts out of games and tends to hold onto the ball too long. He is, on the other hand, a good dribbler and shoots on sight. Fulham, a mid-table EPL side is the right fit for him.

Well, if you think $2 million is a good deal, it actually is much better than that: 1 million euros = about $1.4 million. In other words, the if the Express article is correct, the fee was the equivalent of about $1.4 million, not $2.0 million.

In any case, will be interesting to see how MB does in sunny Italy. I think it is a good move, especially the fact that Verona is lower level team that will make it easier for MB to start and get plenty of playing time. That said, I still think staying at Gladbach and playing under new coach Favre and with Marco Reuss and some of the other young up and coming players would have been best for MB. But I guess the Ashton move made the impossible.

Sanje I would guess you’re not American, and if you are then you’re a Eurosnob. Note that I didnt say Dempsey would start, I just said a big team would want him. Fulham is middling in the EPL but would they be middling in France or Germany or a top club? And saying Dempsey cant play at a higher level is a complete and utter joke. He scores against Brazil, Spain, has a brace v Chelsea and you say he cant play at a higher level?

Dempsey would never had gotten playing time at Arsenal, since he isn’t French. I’d rather have Americans getting decent playing time at mid-table clubs than have them riding the pine at big clubs anyday.